McSally 'pink tutu' ad hammers Sinema

Arizona Senate hopeful Martha McSally hasn’t locked up the GOP nomination just yet — but she’s turning to the general election with a searing new TV ad hammering Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema for “protesting us in a pink tutu” rather than serving in the military after 9/11.

“While we were in harm’s way in uniform, Kyrsten Sinema was protesting us in a pink tutu and denigrating our service,” McSally says in the commercial, which includes footage of Sinema in a pink outfit.

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The ad, which is being released on Thursday, is designed to contrast the two candidates on national security. It highlights McSally’s military record, and in it McSally notes that she “led air strikes against the Taliban and was the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat.”

“The world is a dangerous place,” she concludes. “We need strong leaders who understand the threat and respect our troops. Kyrsten Sinema fails the test.”

McSally and Sinema are both currently serving in the House of Representatives. When 9/11 occurred, Sinema was working as a social worker and waging an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for Phoenix city council.

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It is not the first time that Sinema’s anti-war past has become an issue for her. In 2012, when Sinema was waging her first congressional bid, The Hill reported that after 9/11 Sinema participated in the Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice, a group that described military action as “an inappropriate response to terrorism.”

At the time, Sinema told the outlet that she parted ways with the group before being elected to the Arizona state legislature in 2004.

The Sinema campaign called the ad an act of desperation, saying: “McSally is in political trouble because her agenda is deeply unpopular.”

The new spot comes ahead of the Aug. 28 GOP primary, when McSally faces former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. While the primary has been a bruising one, polls show McSally with a lead.

McSally’s campaign is spending in the mid-six figures to air the commercial, according to a person familiar with the buy.